The Melanoma Program was created in 2002 and is comprised of 19 investigators, representing 11 departments of the New York University School of Medicine. Its core mission is to utilize the cohesive and unique interdisciplinary nature of its members to: 1) identify risk factors and prognostic markers of melanoma progression;2) evaluate the biologic heterogeneity of melanoma, including expression, furiction and molecular alterations of growth control pathways, oncogenes and antigens;and 3) integrate immunotherapeutic, chemotherapeutic and biological therapies into combination approaches for treating melanoma. The Program has three areas of unique strength which underlie these aims: a large clinical patient base, a translational research program that drives active research within the Program and prospectively accrues melanoma patients'blood, tissue specimens, and clinical information, and an immunotherapy program that tests novel cell-based approaches in combination with established or innovative therapies to treat melanoma patients. These common scientific interests and goals serve to foster vigorous interactions and collaborations between members of the Melanoma Program. Although this is a relatively young program, its members have produced over 100 melanoma-related publications, and intraprogrammatic collaborations and publications represent an increasing component every year. Total funding for this program is $2,444,482. Total publications for the past five years include 156 of which 6% are intra-programmatic and 26% are inter-programmatic.